Garnets or Bust (4 page)

edge of his touch, knew it waited for her, taunted her with its closeness.

She struggled against his weight, no longer seeking escape. Now she wanted to

move, wanted the leverage to take what she needed from his body to end this terrible

need. If it didn’t stop soon she’d die. Fuck that, if it didn’t stop soon she’d kill him.

Daaron, that bastard, owed her this orgasm.

He was close too, she knew it from the stiffening of his body and the way his cock

seemed to be swelling and growing impossibly harder within her. Inspiration struck,

and she squeezed him as hard as she could with her internal muscles.

He choked back a groan and then pulled his hand away from her pelvis.

Gripping her hips with both hands, he raised his upper body and knelt behind her.

This new position set her free, and she lifted up on her arms to meet the forceful blows

of his hips.

Almost there.

Tessa sensed the restrained power in the hands holding her, the hardness of his

thighs against her legs, the solid length of his cock. She wanted to answer with her own

violent thrusts, wanted to take her pleasure from him the same way he’d taken her

freedom and her garnets.

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Joanna Wylde

But not even the thought of her lovely gems could distract her from her raging

need.

Again and again they came together, until she couldn’t hear for the pounding of her

heart, couldn’t breathe for the tightness in her chest—her release lay so close yet still not

overwhelming her. He gave one more powerful shove and she exploded in a whirlwind

of sensation beyond anything she’d ever approached on her own. Above and behind

her, Tessa was dimly aware of Daaron reaching his own release. Then they collapsed

together on the bed, panting and exhausted.

Tessa tried to collect her thoughts, blinking and dazed by the force of her orgasm.

She’d never experienced anything as magnificent as the last ten minutes. Not when she

graduated from college, not when she’d gotten her first job. Not even when she’d found

that enormous cerulean star garnet…

Garnets.

She froze, reality rushing back in an instant. She needed to get her garnets and go,

quickly. And she would have to take Daaron with her as her hostage, she realized. She

might be able to get away from him here and now, but even if she did, he would hunt

her down. He’d said he had backup out in the darkness, so she’d have to use Daaron as

her shield. It all sounded like something out of a holovid, not the kind of thing real

people did, but the alternative seemed to be giving up her lovely, lovely gems and

doing what Daaron told her.

Not an option.

Taking a deep breath, Tessa forced a sensuous smile to creep across her face,

drifting her hands along his back in the most soothing manner she could imagine. All

she had to do was convince him she wanted him again. Daaron’s colossal ego would

take care of the rest for her. He rolled over to look at her and smiled. So easy.

“That was good for you, wasn’t it?”

“Yes,” she replied, telling the truth. “But there’s something I’ve always wanted to

try.”

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Garnets or Bust

“What?”

“Lean back and close your eyes,” she said. He did, and she knelt next to him on the

bed, rubbing her hands up and down his chest. His nipples hardened as her fingertips

grazed them. She found his chest fascinating—she’d never been up so close to a man

before. Well, a naked man. They were far more interesting in the flesh than in books.

When she leaned over and licked the skin right above his navel, she told herself it was

all part of her ploy to distract him.

No matter that the salty taste of his skin made the flesh between her legs burn with

hunger.

Tessa shifted, trying to dismiss the sensation, and dropped her hand to the hard

length of his semi-erect cock. He still wanted her, even though they’d only just finished.

She knew that wasn’t the norm; her roommates at college had been clear on that one.

Most men were useless after coming, but Daaron seemed to just be warming up. She

leaned over and blew lightly on his member. Daaron groaned.

“Whatever it was you wanted to try, you’d better do it soon,” he said, voice

strained. “Or I’ll lose patience.”

A wave of pleasure and power washed through Tessa. She loved how he responded

to her, and thoroughly enjoyed the idea of using her sexuality against him. She blew

again and then flicked her tongue out, catching the flared head of his penis with the tip.

Daaron shuddered. Tessa gripped his length firmly in her hand and rubbed up and

down, feeling the ridges of the veins within, pulling the soft skin up along his length.

She shot a look up to his face to make sure his eyes were still closed before glancing at

the floor. The fool had left his blaster sitting right there, next to his clothing. She

gripped him harder and he moaned.

This time she didn’t have to force a smile, it came naturally.

Tessa leaned over again, took a deep breath and sucked his length into her mouth.

The taste of him, salty and warm, surprised her. She wiggled her tongue against him as

her roommate had described doing. Apparently she did it right, because Daaron bucked

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Joanna Wylde

against her and gave another of those deep moans of excitement. She pulled up. His

hand reached down, gripping her hair and trying to push her head back down, but she

grabbed it and pushed it away.

“No, this is my fantasy,” she said. “Stay still.”

He did as she asked.

Moving quickly, she leaned over the edge of the bed and grabbed the blaster. As he

started to sit up, she shoved the cold metal of the gun into his groin, right at the base of

his cock.

“I said
stay still
.”

Daaron froze, eyes flying open. His face filled with rage, and she realized she could

never, ever allow him to overpower her again. If she did, he might kill her.

“You said you had some friends outside,” she said slowly. “I’m taking you hostage.

We’re going to get my garnets and leave this damned planet, and your buddies better

not try to stop us. Do I make myself clear?”

“You’re my wife, you have to obey me,” he said. “That’s the way it works in the

Warrens.”

“How stupid do you think I am?” Tessa snapped back. “Women of the Warrens

might have to obey their husbands, but only as long as they’re alive. Don’t push your

luck.”

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Garnets or Bust

Daaron took deep breaths, forcing down the anger thundering through him. The

situation was his own damn fault. Losing control of your weapon was a fool’s mistake,

and if one of his men had done it, he’d find himself cleaning latrines for a month. He’d

forgotten just how intoxicating Tessa’s presence could be, and seriously underestimated

the woman herself. Being near her all but wiped out his ability to think, and now they

would both pay.

Tessa stepped away from him, holding the blaster steady, and awkwardly pulled

up her pants with one hand.

“Get up,” she said. “We’re going to walk outside and you’re going to stand in front

of me as a shield. I want you to tell your friends to leave us alone until we get to my

cruiser. We’ll be taking the first available transport off-planet, and then I’ll make

arrangements to sell my garnets and disappear. If you do everything I tell you, you’ll

survive. Do you understand me?”

He nodded his head, not looking forward to the next ten minutes. His team didn’t

respond well to threats.

“Pick up your clothes,” Tessa added.

“Should I put them on?”

She gave him a speculative look before offering him a rather dark smile.

“No,” she replied sweetly. “It will be harder for you to run if you’re naked. Now

we’re going to leave. I’m going to stand right behind you as we go out. You’ll pause in

the doorway and tell your people to let us by. Then we’ll grab the garnets and go.”

He nodded his head, knowing it wouldn’t get that far. Together they moved toward

the opening and Daaron stepped out slowly. Tessa nudged him with the blaster, and he

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Joanna Wylde

opened his mouth to speak. Before anything could come out, a hail of drugged

flechettes rained through the air.

Daaron went down first, tranquilizers blazing through his system in a mere

heartbeat. His last sensation as he fell was the punishing hit of a blaster bolt. She’d done

it, he marveled. Soft, sweet Tessa had just shot him in the back. He heard her shriek and

the world turned black.

* * * * *

Tessa awakened slowly, her mouth tasting metallic and bitter. She took a deep

breath. The air smelled odd, recycled, like the air on a space station—or in the deepest

reaches of the Warrens. Not the fresh, clean breezes of her camp, certainly. She opened

her eyes and looked at the ceiling, finding bare metal punctuated only by endless rows

of rivets. The bed upon which she lay was soft but far from luxurious, although the

fabric of the covers had the smooth, perfectly inviting feel that only natural fibers could

create. Expensive, like everything else Daaron had ever owned.

Daaron.

Memory flooded back. Dear Goddess,
she’d
killed Daaron
. Shot him point-blank with

his own blaster. Tessa felt sick, completely disgusted with herself. She’d killed a man

over a handful of stupid garnets.

Daaron had
given his life
for a pile of fucking rocks.

How could she live with herself? Of course, her continuing survival probably

wouldn’t be a problem, not after his people got through with her. She’d enjoyed

threatening Daaron, liked the idea of him feeling uncertain and scared, the way he’d

always made her feel. But dead? No, never that. For long moments Tessa lay back on

the bed, trying to think.

Finally she sat up listlessly, wondering when her executioners would arrive. Her

cell was sparse. Bed, metal basin with water spouts and a fresher. Some drawers with a

mirrored surface on the wall above them. A small table beside the bed. Everything one

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Garnets or Bust

piece, everything bolted to the floor. She stood, trying to detect any signs of artificial

gravity. If they were in space, it was on something big and powerful enough to have the

best gravitrons money could buy.

Of course, money had never been an issue for Daaron.

The door pinged, and she watched it slide open without interest. Then Daaron

walked in and she froze.

“You’re alive,” she said, stunned.

“Obviously,” he replied, his voice tight. “Good thing you didn’t check the blaster to

see if the charge was lethal.”

It hadn’t even occurred to her.

“For the record, I’m sorry I shot you,” she said, meaning it. “I think I panicked. I

didn’t want you dead… Just out of the way.”

“I find that tremendously comforting,” he replied, tone dark with sarcasm. “Getting

shot with a blaster, even on the lowest setting, hurts like hell. And my men are pissed.

You’re lucky they didn’t kill you.”

“Why didn’t they?” she asked, trying to figure out her next move. She supposed

that as long as they kept talking, she’d stay alive. Anything to buy time.

“Because I gave them strict orders not to,” he replied. “And
they
always obey. I’m

not so sure I believe in the whole Warrens subservient wife thing though. Clearly it

didn’t sink into your psyche growing up.”

She fell silent, unsure of her response. According to the traditions of the Warrens,

they were married and she should obey him. She just didn’t want to though. And why

should she? He sure as shit wasn’t from the Warrens, she couldn’t expect him to love

and honor her in return for her obedience. No, he’d just use it against her.

“You said you had to marry me, to keep me from testifying,” she said after a long

pause. “What did you mean by that? Honestly, I don’t know anything about you or

your people. I just want to take my garnets and leave. Surely you can understand?”

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Joanna Wylde

“There are bigger things in play here than money,” he said. “I can give you money.

Your financial worries are over.”

Tessa tensed.

“I don’t want your money any more now than I did at school, Daaron,” she replied.

“I shouldn’t need it. I used my skills and education to find my own way of making

money. The garnets. They’re all the rage at court, now that the Emperor has expressed a

fondness for them. They might have been worthless this time last year, but they’re more

than enough to set me for life today. All you have to do is give me my rocks and let me

go. You do your own thing and we’ll both live happily ever after. Or you’ll do whatever

weird thing it is
you
want to do, and
I’ll
live happily ever after. We can pretend this

didn’t happen.”

“Let’s sit down,” Daaron said, gesturing toward the bed. He seemed to fill the

room, crowding her. Daaron had always done that to her—every place he went, he

filled. He stepped toward her, crowding her, and she slid to one side of the bed in an

attempt to put space between them. He gave her a knowing smile. She hadn’t fooled

him. He plopped down on the bed, depressing the mattress so she had to fight to keep